Grooming is a subject of interest to
every standard schnauzer owner. This is not surprising as every standard
schnauzer needs to be groomed and many of our owners want to do all or most of
the work themselves. Most get lots of help and information from their
breeders and often the new owner will be put into contact with a standard
schnauzer owner or breeder in their area of the country so that they can
experience a hands on grooming session.

For those of us who show, we have no
option when it comes to coats - they must be stripped or plucked.
Companion standard schnauzer owners have the option of either trying their hand
at stripping or having the coat clippered off.

For stripping, you will have to find
someone willing to hand strip your dog for you, which can cost $$$ or learn to
do it yourself. For now, we will not go into the details on stripping but
many standard schnauzer owners successfully manage to keep a rolled coat - which
is a coat that is constantly stripped all over the jacket, neck and head.
We have several owners that just come to us as their breeder for the shaving of
throat, ears, cheeks and bum and the scissor trimming of furnishings (legs,
skirt, brows and beard) and keep the jacket in tip top shape themselves.
Some owners do the jacket work and take the dog into the dog grooming salon for
the shave and trim.

Clippers

If you opt to do the clippering and shaving
yourself, you will need to invest in a good clipper and perhaps several
different clipper blade sizes. Do not be tempted to buy the pet clippers
that are offered in most department and pet stores. They are a waste of
time and money. These clippers can range in price from $20 to $40 and
believe me...you get what you pay for.

Most good clippers will set you back
$150 to $300. We have been using an Oster brand A5 clipper for nearly 20
years and with only one or two minor repairs over the years, it still works
great. These clippers which are sold under various brand names are
available through pet stores, pet supply catalogue companies or from a supply
booth at your local dog show.

To just do the shaving of ears,
throat, cheeks and bum you will need only the #10 blade that comes with the
clipper (although some like to use a #15 on ears). You will also get oil,
grease, a cleaning brush and instruction booklet. You should also purchase
a spray can of cooling agent such as Oster Kool Lube and you should also
purchase a container of blade wash.

If you are going to clipper your
dog's coat, you will need to purchase clipper blades with longer teeth to allow
the hair to be cut further away from the dog's body. Some prefer to use a
#10 blade which gives a really smooth look but this gives your standard
schnauzer no protection from the sun or weather. Many owners find that
they can get a fairly decent look with a #7F or even a #4F blade. You will
notice that clipper blades are sized so that the larger the blade number, the
shorter the clip. Thus a #4 would leave a much longer coat than a #10
blade. A #30 blade is a surgical blade and virtually removes all visible
hair. More detailed information on blades available may be obtained at the
Oster company (grooming supplies) web site which is
www.osterpro.com.

It is important to remember to never
shave a dirty dog as the dust will dull the blade very quickly. Coats
should be well brushed and if the coat is fairly thick, it will also need to be
raked (have some of the undercoat removed) before the clipper will do a decent
job. If you neglect to do this, the clipper blade is apt to jam up in the
coat and not cut at all.

Blades can be sharpened when they
become dull but this requires finding someone to actually do the sharpening and
although it is not all that expensive, it does add up and eventually the blade
will wear out.

Before you even begin to clipper
your puppy, you should gradually acclimatize it to the sound of the clipper,
which can alarm or scare some pups. Start by just running the clipper, and
treats and praise work wonders. There is no way you can clipper a puppy
that is terrified of the clipper noise!

Stripping Stone

Most new owners were given a list of
basic grooming tools when they took their puppy home for the first time.
We also send each puppy home with a "stripping stone" which is a black cinder
like block. These stones can actually be the pumice type of stone that can
be purchased for cleaning barbecue grills (and cut down into manageable shapes
and pieces for hand work). They may be obtained at barbecue supply stores.
The stone can be used to remove puppy coat and help to remove top and undercoat
once the adult coat comes in. We encourage new owners to at least give
stripping a try.

There are many different stripping
tools and over the years we have acquired quite an assortment. Some work
better than others. Some work better on some coats and not on other coats.
Your breeder is the best person to give you advice on which is best for your
dog.

Stripping Knives

Stripping knives can not only be used to strip top coat but can be used as a
rake to card out undercoat. It is best if you have someone with experience
in stripping coats to actually show you the proper way to hold and use the
knives without cutting the coat.

In recent years a fairly new tool
has come into use. It is called a Coat King (Mars) or Mat King.
These rake like tools have teeth and blades that help to remove dead hair and
undercoat. A certain amount of care must be taken on show coats but they
seem to work well for the companion dog. We find that the one with the #20
blade works best.

Of course you will also find that
your fingers work as pretty good tools in stripping out a coat or plucking hairs
out of ears or between eyes. Ear powder works very well to help you get a
grip on the hairs. Some people also use rubber finger pads or even
surgical gloves to give them a better grip. Always remember to pull hair
in the direction that it grows or else the new hairs that will follow will grow
in very strange directions.

Combs

Basic tools like a good steel
comb with different size teeth (wider and narrower spaced teeth) at each end
are invaluable. Some prefer to have two or three combs, each for a
different job, IE some wide toothed ones for tangles, and some combs with
narrow teeth for finishing.

Brushes

We have had several different
brushes here over the years. One we bought when we had our first dog is
like a palm brush and has brass bristles mixed with boar hair. It is a
nice brush for bringing a dull coat to life. We also had a rubber palm
brush with steel pins for furnishings.

For puppies we just use a plain
bristle as this is gentle and helps to get puppy used to grooming. You can
use a pin brush on longer clipped or stripped coats.

We have several different slicker
brushes too. One fairly large with soft bent pins for brushing out coat
and furnishings, and one smaller pin brush for fluffing the hair on feet and
such.

Scissors

Long scissors are a must if you
are planning to do your own finishing work. Ask the advice of your
breeder or an experienced friend that grooms. You do not have to buy
the most expensive pair in the store but you do need to buy something of
quality that will stay sharp and cut cleanly.

Thinning Shears

You will also need a pair of
thinning shears. I still use our original pair and Ron has a pair that
he has used for five or six years now.

Grooming
Table

Grooming
Arm & Noose

A good grooming table is a must
if you are planning to do the grooming yourself. Many folks start by
making do with a rubber bath mat on a counter, chest freezer or table but
soon they are looking for something better. A grooming arm and noose
(that attach to the grooming table and keep the dog's head up) are also very
useful as they keep the dog reasonably steady while you are are using both
hands to groom.

Shampoo/Conditioner:

In order to keep the furnishings
clean, you will need to bathe them regularly. An all over bath will only
be necessary when your dog's coat gets dirty or smelly. Look for a good
shampoo that is designed for dogs, perhaps one that brightens and whitens the
coat on the beards and legs of your schnauzer. You may want to have a good
flea shampoo on hand in case your pal brings home a flea or two while out in the
park, classes or at a show.

It's a good idea also to have a good
quality conditioner on hand. There are types that you rinse out, and other
types of conditioners that you can leave in the furnishings.

Hand Held Sprayer
Attachment:

Whether you use your bath tub,
shower or laundry tub, you will need a hand held sprayer attachment as a
proper rinse is a must. You can get these spray hoses and heads at a
price anywhere from a few dollars to several hundred. It depends on
how fancy you want to get. Here we are lucky as we had a small
apartment sized tub installed when re redid the dog room. It is raised
to a comfortable height and we also have a handy shelf for shampoos and
towels.

Drying out the Wet
Coat:

Friends and relatives keep us
supplied with old towels so we are never short of good absorbent towels to
dry legs and beards or to pay down a coat. We have several hand held
hair dryers.

Clothing Protection

You may want to purchase a
grooming apron or smock to protect your clothes while grooming. Usually
made of rip stop nylon, they will allow hair to just slide off. Here
again, the style and price range is wide.

Nail Clippers

Teeth and toes will end our grooming 101
lesson for the time being. There are two main types of nail cutters.
One is the guillotine type, where a single blade slices the nails and the other
is a pliers style cutter. You may also want to finish the nails by using a
fine steel file or perhaps you want to grind the nails with a Dremel tool
(either electric or battery operated). We have one that is seldom used but
I know others who only use this tool for grinding the nails down to proper
length. Whatever you choose, it is very important to keep your standard
schnauzer's nails short. Long nails lead to foot problems and can even
cause the dog to go lame.

Nail Grinders

The Dremel company does not
officially recommend using the Dremel tool for doing dog nails, however many
people have found that it works excellent for this purpose. The Oster
company also manufactures a nail grinding tool. Similarly as with an
electric clipper, it is very wise to acclimatize your puppy or your mature dog
with the sound of the nail grinder before you even start doing the nails in this
way. It is important to make this an entirely positive experience.
Once you get going and your dog gets used to this, it may even fall asleep when
you do this.

There is a web site that provides an
excellent explanation that includes the necessary safety considerations and very
good and clear pictures of the entire procedure at
www.doberdawn.com
. The author of the web article is Dawn S. Garrett and this link is
provided to you with the kind permission of the author. The author
requests only that no one reproduce the content of her web site, as it is for
your information purposes only.

Teeth Cleaning

You will want to keep those
pearly whites looking that way so start early to get your puppy used to having
his teeth cleaned on a regular basis. Doggie toothpastes are available, as
are regular or finger cover type of brushes.

Storage of Grooming Equipment

Where to keep it
all? There are various sizes and prices for tack boxes and gear bags.
You may want to consider how much equipment and supplies you have and whether or
not you will be leaving it in one place or carrying it to different places like
to the garage, cottage or to dog shows. If it will all stay in one spot,
then perhaps a cupboard or shelf will suit. If you are or know of a
handyman, perhaps you can have a lovely wooden box built to keep everything in.

If you take a look through one of
the pet supply catalogues, either in print or online, you will find a myriad of
ideas and ways to spend your money. Perhaps e-Bay might be a possible
source as well, but you should remember that it is "buyer beware" if you are
purchasing used items.

Don't try to purchase everything at
once. Make a list of things that you need now, things that you will need
eventually, and things that you would like to have in the future. Don't
forget to include some of the items on your wish list for birthdays and
Christmas.

Where to keep it
all? There are various sizes and prices for tack boxes and gear bags.
You may want to consider how much equipment and supplies you have and whether or
not you will be leaving it in one place or carrying it to different places like
to the garage, cottage or to dog shows. If it will all stay in one spot,
then perhaps a cupboard or shelf will suit. If you are or know of a
handyman, perhaps you can have a lovely wooden box built to keep everything in.

If you take a look through one of
the pet supply catalogues, either in print or online, you will find a myriad of
ideas and ways to spend your money. Perhaps e-Bay might be a possible
source as well, but you should remember that it is "buyer beware" if you are
purchasing used items.

Don't try to purchase everything at
once. Make a list of things that you need now, things that you will need
eventually, and things that you would like to have in the future. Don't
forget to include some of the items on your wish list for birthdays and
Christmas.

Supply Sources: (These are as of April 2006, you
may have to research further).